Friday, March 13, 2009

Help For Panic Attack

By Dr. George Best

Panic attacks are scary, plain and simple. The pounding heart, the tightening chest and difficulty breathing, the profuse sweating, and other symptoms make you feel like you're about to die. To try to avoid experiencing panic attacks, many people seek medication to control them. For many though, medication fails to bring total relief, and often presents side effects that make it hard to function normally.

But there is other help for panic attack sufferers besides medication. One of the simplest, yet most effective methods for handling panic attacks without medication is cognitive therapy.

In addition to being safe, simple, and highly effective for the majority of panic attack sufferers, this form of treatment can be quite affordable, particularly in the form of the self-help training programs that are now available. Cognitive therapy techniques are also used in the clinical setting by professional therapists, and this option may be better for individuals who are looking for more guidance than what they would get from a self-help program.

The main value of cognitive therapy approaches, in either the form of self-help programs or professional treatment, is that the individual learns exactly what to do in a safe, non-stressful environment. Through practice, the individual becomes trained to quickly and effectively handle a panic attack, rather than desperately trying to "talk themselves down" in the middle of the panic attack when they are not in the most resourceful state. When learned and practiced and combined with additional supportive methods, cognitive therapy methods can not only dramatically decrease the impact of a panic attack, but can empower the individual to overcome and eliminate panic attacks completely over time. - 15437

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